Shadow Hearts: A Novel
by Squirrelboy18
Summary: My Novelization of Shadow Hearts. Also, my first Fanfiction, so READ THIS! Please? : I improvise and do not just blindly follow the script. I saw that Shadow Hearts would make a great horror story, so I started it. Please review?
1. Chapter 1

Okay. This is my novellization of Shadow Hearts, the first (and best) one. I will upload it one chapter at a time. I will improvise, and try not to go exactly as the script goes. I love being creative… PLEASE REVIEW. If you read, you review. You hear me!???

Chapter I 

Journey by Night

Between the travelers of the eastern plains and marshlands of China, nothing was considered more fearfully unsettling than a journey by night. In this area, the night was unmercifully dark and lonely. Those who wandered the cold dark valleys between the towering hills and mountains never detached their minds from a certain feeling of discomfort. Old stories of ghosts and the dead wandering the plain circulated through ancient Chinese legends, and told of disquieting occurrences on plains such as these, where strange and disturbing events led to the birth of a new kind of fear that was powerful enough to seep into ones mind, regardless their bravery.

At this point and time, it was the year 1913. The dark and foggy field refused the bright light that the full moon poured so generously upon it. The waving grass crawled along the land, rushing here and there, wherever the wind carried, like waves on a calm sea. A wolf or two could be heard howling in the distance, their calls echoing eerily through the air. It was one of those not-so-beautiful nights that come every now and then, along with a sense of insecurity. A night when you can feel something is missing, as if hospitality had been consumed by a feeling of black nothingness, which now laid cold and dead amongst the sleeping earth's breast.

This wicked emptiness had consumed most of the night's beauty, and together, the elements of the time and place swirled together into a hodge-podge of dark, blurry colours, like runny paint. But amidst all the darkness, and the ugly, seemingly dead scenery the lay beneath its gaseous veil, you perceive after a moment, a silhouetted and isolated black figure. As you approach, it takes a shape; that of a train station, seemingly in quiet isolation, along with a wet and rotting track that parallels it. It was positioned upon the camouflaged background, to look as if it was suspended in a void of some sort. Only the large and watchful moon proved otherwise.

It was now nearly midnight. Traveling across the plains of China on a small, isolated railway, a large, black freight train rushed by in the quiet night. The black smoke of the steam engine seemed to add to the isolated feeling, disappearing in swirling puffs, into the abyssal sky. And all the while, the roar of the train's engine, echoing throughout the eerily silent night, and the light that it shed amongst the barren lands was the most energetic activity amongst that one could see. A lonely wanderer would feel a sudden feeling of salvation just from hearing something reminiscent of his old civilization; a feeling of hospitality.

The train was nearly vacant. There were five Japanese soldiers, a major, and a sergeant, who had not a single hair on his small, doll-like head. In the front guest car, a young, Caucasian girl sat, with her chin planted firmly in her hand, as she watched the plains rush by the train as it sped off for the city of Fengtian, to the west. She wore a dark blue blouse, and her long hair was tied around in a bun at the back. Around her neck, was an expensive looking crucifix, made of a substantial amount of gold. Other than that, there were only two more passengers. The first was a western English gentleman. He wore a fancy black suit, and a large top hat. His face was one of the kindest faces you'd ever see. His eyes depicted an unnatural bliss. The second was a mysterious person, who had boarded the train at the same stop as the English gentleman. He sat, covered in a blanket, listening closely to things around him, as if suspicious of a coming event. Most likely a homeless youth, who had dropped miserably out of school.

Ahead, in the first car, the Japanese sergeant looked out the window of the car door, and at the girl. Her beauty and innocence was almost mystifying. She stood out over every other passenger within the dimly lit train. Her eyes… blue as the bright sky (contrasting vividly from the sky that hung overhead at this moment), gave the soldier a sense of calm soothing, like the waves of a soft, motherly ocean. As he turned to his fellow soldier, his mind returned to that of a working soldier in the Japanese military, and the burdens seeped back into his conscience, sadly. "…It's already past 2300, and it's still a long way to Fengtian…" he muttered, most to himself, before yawning.

The soldier looked at her, too. She was a beautiful youth. Maybe twenty years old, she had sparkling blue eyes and hair so light blonde, it was nearly silver. "Major Tsuji, what is this about?" the soldier asked. "Why have this special train in the middle of the night to escort this girl to Japan? She looks pretty ordinary to me…"

Major Tsuji came up next to the two men. He thought about it for a while. "Hmm… well, hell if I know. There's not telling what the big shots in Tokyo were thinking…" he laughed slightly. "Next time I see you-know-who, I'll ask her, okay?" he said, clapping his hand on the soldier's shoulder.

They sat there in silence for a while. The low hum of the train accompanied the silence as if it were a part of the ominous silence as well. But just as the first soldier nearly nodded off to sleep, a sudden sound tore its way their ears. A piercing scream was heard, flowing back through the cars like a wave of terror. "What the hell…" Tsuji said to himself, looking through the car door window. He quickly opened it to see what was going on. The girl's eyes were small and full of shock. She took off towards the soldiers, who had their guns ready.

The car door slid open, and the western gentleman that boarded at the last stop was there. Behind him, were two bodies of the two soldiers who had been posted there. Both had deep gashes into their heads, and brain matter had spilt over the entire floor, and soaked into the wood. From the second body, a small, bony, gray creature with a long scythe yanked its blade out of the soldier's head, pulling out a dangling piece of the cerebrum. It had two tiny beady eyes embedded in its shrunken skull, and sharp nail like teeth. The small creature began to devour the piece of meat, as the western gentleman stepped forward, with a kind grin on his face. The kind of grin that can either be too nice for such a gruesome act, or sarcastically accompany it.

The man brought with each step, an unholy dark feeling. The sergeant could hardly believe what had happened. He'd never seen such a creature in his life. "Wh-what's going on!?" he said. The small creature seemed to vaporize into a small, clear flame and circle around the western gentleman, who stepped forward, still with that grin on his face.

The sergeant panicked for a while. A feeling of upwelling fear nearly took over his body, until he regained his control. "Shoot the bastard!" he commanded in his quivering voice.

The two remaining soldiers shot and shot with their powerful rifles. But none of the bullets ever made contact with the grinning old man. The small creature had used its scythe, still bloody from the other two soldiers, to deflect the offending bullets with superhuman speed. The old man walked casually toward the three men and the girl. He pointed with his right hand to the soldier on his right, and the creature sliced his stomach open. The man fell, his stomach acid leaking on the floor. The gentleman pointed to the guy on his left, and he was slaughtered like a pig, just as the others had been.

The only people in the car now were the old man, the Caucasian girl, and the sergeant. He quickly reached for his handgun. "Don't come any closer!" he shouted. The man stepped forward, seemingly to just provoke the sergeant. The Sergeant wrinkled his nose in both odium, and fear. "What does it take to kill this European bastard!??" he though. He began to shoot his small handgun. Yet again, all of the shots were deflected by the strange creature's scythe. "Die! Die! _DIE!"_ he shouted, firing continuously.

His gun suddenly ran out of bullets. He backed away in a panic, throwing the handgun at the gentleman's face. With a slight head movement, the man dodged it. As the major found panic seizing control of his rational though, he turned tail and ran, but was slain in the same way the others had. He dropped to the western man's feet, his scalp rolling off. The man kicked it aside.

There was a silence. He approached the girl. She had been filled with so much fear that she had been paralyzed, and lost control of her body. She couldn't move, save for the shivering she got from the man's ghostly presence. This wasn't the first time she'd seen him. She bore witness to her father's death, on the steps of a small church back in Rouen, France. Only these men were given a break. The western gentleman had torn her father to pieces and left a mass of organic matter all over the church steps.

The girl winced. "It's… you! How did you find me??" she said, remembering that horrible incident. She remembered his evil façade emerging from the darkness of the alleyway with that same smile, and how her father had died protecting her. Echoes of distant, dormant memories surfaced, and her heart sped to an unhealthy rate.

"Yes! My name is Roger Bacon. And I am honoured that you remember me so well," he said. "I've come to take you away…" he said, still with that ironically polite grin on his face. She tried to run around him, but his small, companion was there. Staring into its eyes, shrunken into the dead skull, overwhelming horror appeared on her body, in the form of gooseflesh.

"You can't escape…" said Roger Bacon, chuckling. "Come along quietly… sister."

Suddenly, the back door of the car opened. The mysterious person underneath the blanket from before had emerged, revealing a young face. The face was that of a rebellious youth. A great dark aura seemed to radiate from his body and consume the once peaceful air inside the car. He wore a long, brown trench coat, black pants, and a red shirt, all fastened to his body by several large belts. His hair was spiky and dark brown. A grotesque talisman hung around his neck, with a small jewel that glowed a cool blue embedded in a hook shaped stone. He stepped forward with a serious look on his face, cracking his knuckles, which were concealed beneath white, leather gloves.

Roger Bacon smiled at this young man, acting so tough. He supposed he was going to play, hero, wasn't he? Irony arises in one's mind when they consider how Bacon's profile is polite and kind, despite his evil intentions, when this young man seemed, by appearance, more fearful than Bacon. And yet he was her to save her?

Bacon laughed. "Heh, heh! Ah, a new actor in our play…" he said. The grin got wider, as Bacon pointed to the young man, and the small creature raced toward him, scythe in hand.

The youth seemed pretty confident. He held out his left arm as bait. He knew the nature of these small creatures, for he had fought them many times before. Wind Shear Demons. Evil, given form from the mist of a stagnant pond, and sentience by tormented souls that wandered endlessly the plains. The beast sliced his arm clean off. However, the youth showed no signs of injury. No blood dripped from the amputated wound. He smiled. With quick reflexes, he grabbed the small creature tightly around the head with his right hand. He began to increase the pressure of his fingers, as the small creature, wailing and squealing in pain, flailed and floundered around. Until finally, the pressure became so great, that his fingers broke though the creature's skull and its head came apart in his clenched fist.

The youth was surprised when he saw that the old man showed no signs of surprise or worry. The grin had vanished, though. "Oh, that's a shame. I was fond of him, really…" he said, simply. "I made him myself, you see."

Grinning, the youth picked the amputated arm up off the ground, and put it near the bloody stump that hung there from before. And suddenly they beheld! The tissues and muscles began to come back together! The cells seemed to regenerate quickly, until the wound had closed up completely. The youth now had full control of the arm that had just fallen off. The only sign left, was a small slice though his coat sleeve. The girl watched in amazement, as this strange, miraculous act continued.

The gentleman just grinned again, and chuckled slightly. This youth wasn't as weak as he'd expected. He was obviously not a normal human being. Just then, he noticed that the girl was trying to get away, now that his wind shear demon had just died. He quickly grabbed her hand. "Uh uh!" he said as if speaking to a small child. He held his hand in front of her face, and suddenly, without any pain, she lost consciousness, and fell into his arms. "Not yet… I have better plans for you. You wouldn't want your father's death to be all for naught, would you?"

The youth began to run toward them. But suddenly, the old man turned around. He waved his freehand, and in his eyes flashed its confident gaze towards him. The youth suddenly found himself being propelled back through three cars at around 40 miles per hour, tumbling though a hodge-podge of various parts of the train. The warlock grinned, and laughed slightly. "Looks like today's not the day to play hero, punk!" he said. He then carried the girl off, and kicked the door out, releasing a gust of wind, as he climbed up the ladder on the side of the train car.

In the second to last car, the youth finally tumbled to a stop near a broken seat. The pain went away quickly, and he got up as if nothing happened. Brushing off the dust, the young man surveyed the surroundings. Looking around, he began to walk back to where the warlock old man had been. He walked past the broken windows and benches, and squished over the remains of the four soldiers as if he was walking on normal soil. He thought to himself for a minute. The old man may have jumped off the train with the girl. In that case, he had to be quick, before they got too far away.

He began to run back to where Bacon had blasted him from before, only to find no living person. He was about to jump off from the car door, when suddenly, he heard footsteps on top of him. He must've climbed up onto the roof! The young man suddenly gathered his strange unnatural strength, and forcibly burst through the roof of the train, as if it was cardboard.

On the top of the train, the old man, who had been running toward the front with the girl, stopped. He was planning to hijack the train and take it to Shanghai, but he decided to have a little fun, first. He spoke, still facing the same way. "…You're a _persistent _little rat, aren't you?" he said, his voice flowing back to the youth along with the wind.

The young man stepped forward. "…You ain't getting' away, pops!" the youth spoke for the first time. His young eyes shown with a fiery yet calm stare that would send a chill down any person's spine.

The grin returned to Bacon's face. He said nothing, but he dropped the unconscious girl gently on the train. It seemed like he wanted to test the youth's might. He stepped forward, and bowed with his hand in front of his abdomen, while the youth put up his dukes.

"Well boy?" Bacon shouted over the wind. "Show me what you've got!" He beckoned to him, and the youth ran forward, ready to knock him out cold. He aimed a powerful roundhouse kick toward the old man's head. But suddenly, he found that Bacon had disappeared. He hadn't expected that, and lost his balance, and almost fell off of the train.

He heard Bacon's laughter come from behind him. He turned to see that he was standing there, still in the same position as he had been at the beginning, with his hands behind his back. The youth became agitated with the old geezer's laughter, so he pushed forward and aimed a punch at his face.

Once again, Bacon disappeared. However, this time, the youth anticipated it, and braced himself so he wouldn't lose balance. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around furiously, and grunted as he tried to hit him again, but the pattern repeated itself "Argh!" he said, in his frustration.

"Ha ha ha!" Bacon laughed, from far behind him, still in the same position. The youth ran toward him, ready to punch, but suddenly, he was pushed back by an unseen force as Roger Bacon put his hand forward, with his palm toward the youth. The youth landed on his back, with a metallic cling on the roof.

The youth growled, and got to his feet. "That's it. You're asking for it, mister!" he said. And suddenly, there was a bright light around him. For once, the grin left the old man's face, and he shielded his eyes. The youth screamed, as if in pain, and there was a feeling of darkness, as if it was rising to the surface from within his soul.

A strange event was occurring in the youth's physical body. The very genetic structure of his body was rapidly changing! His skin stretched across, and became brown and bony. His fingernails grew into long, malicious claws, and his face became like a helletic creature's. Feet became devilish hooves, and two fleshy structures jutted their way out of his back. And suddenly, in a flash, his body had been replaced with what looked to be a demonic winged creature. Being stood up from its knelt position on the train, and stretched out its leathery wings, with a mighty roar.

Roger Bacon chuckled. "Ahh…A Harmonixer. A master of fusion. One who calls upon the demons inside his soul for aid. I've heard of your kind, but I've never actually seen a full blooded, purebred one… However, that will not be of any help to you…"

The demonic winged creature flew back toward Bacon, ready to strike. As expected, the warlock disappeared, and the creature was able to get a hit out of it, from behind.

The warlock wiped a small trickle of blood from his mouth. "Fine… if that's how you'd like to play…" he said. He spread his hands out, and began to chant strange words. Words from the blackest of magic. Strange symbols appeared around him, and suddenly, it felt like the youth was in another dimension. The train had disappeared: he was sure of that for the rest of his life. The tree of Kabbalah was visible, behind Bacon, and it began to glow. He felt was if his heart had been pierced by the darkness. All that was, was the warlock and him, standing in a field of dead ebony fog. He felt something being pulled from inside his soul. He began to screaming mercifully. His pupils shrank, and he lost his balance.

The tension released, and the physical realm appeared once again. When the spell had seceded, the youth found that he had transformed back to human, and sat low to the ground, panting. The old man chuckled once again. "You're stronger than I expected!" he said. "But not strong enough… heh heh. Now, foul monster, you shall cease to be!"

A strange reddish light surrounded Bacon's hand. But suddenly, before he fired, a shining light from the holiest source came from behind him.

He turned around, and saw that it was coming from the girl's golden crucifix. The light was so bright, that. It seemed to cause the old man pain. "Wh-what on earth…" he said, shielding his eyes.

Like a reflex, the youth ran toward him with a great punch. Bacon was caught off guard. The punch plunged into his left eye, and almost through the other side of his head. A great bloody hole was left. Stunned, the old man staggered backwards as the youth yanked his fist out of his eye. "W-well, damn…" he said, holding his hand up to his wound. The white glove had become stained red. Bacon grunted, and regained his ground. But when he looked back, he noticed that the youth, and the girl were gone…

The young man held the girl in his arms, and watched as the train went by, and disappeared over the dark and misty horizon. With a deep breath, he laid the gentle beauty down on the ground.

In ten or fifteen minutes, the girl finally opened her eyes. As she did so, a handsome, young man came into view. He stood above, grinning down at her. She watched as he knelt down beside her, and his face got uncomfortably close to her own. "Yo, there! Finally comin' to, huh?" he said. "If you're looking for the train, it's long gone."

The girl stood up, startled, and slowly backed away from him. The young man laughed. "Pretty exciting, eh?" he said. "You getting a tingly feeling? Right about here?" he said, reaching for her breast, rudely. The girl jumped back away from him with a surprised expression.

"N-no! Stay away!" she said.

"What? Stay away!? I haven't even done anything yet!" said the rude hero.

The fact that he said he hadn't done anything _yet _sort of frightened her. "Stay…stay back. Please, I…I can't. No… I can't do anything, I…" she said. The young man had no idea what she was talking about. Suddenly, she backed off again, and ran away, off into a small trail in the plains. The plains were covered with small trails and tall grass, and there was a river that ran along the centre. In a few seconds, the fog that crept along the ground obscured her form from view.

"Huh? Hey, where do you think you're going? I'm telling you, it's not safe that way!" he called out to her. He sighed. _I guess I just have to go after her…_he thought to himself. He began to run after her, but suddenly, a great pain filled his head. It was like someone was hammering his head each time his heart beat. It was way worse than any headache.

And suddenly, a strange voice pervaded his head. "Dark… and ligh… reunited… prote… …d find your reason for living…" it said. And after the voice stopped, the pain faded away. The young man sighed. "God, that hurts! Not that damn voice again!" he said. "Stupid voices! Okay… got it, I'm supposed to protect her, right?" He walked onward, and followed the path that the girl had run though.

He was walking around, in the darkness, when suddenly, a high-pitched scream filled the air. Recognizing the high pitched, damsel-in-distress scream, he rushed over to a small clearing in the tall grass. There, in the middle of the clearing, the girl had fainted, and was about to become the victim of a gigantic spider. Occurrences such as this led to the strange beliefs that haunted these plains, as I had said before. The spider was as big as camel spiders in the desert, and it was very hairy. The legs were as big as a torso, and it made a quiet hissing sound as it came towards the girl. Strange green goo dripped from its hungry looking mouth.

"Huh!? Jesus!" he shouted, running over to protect the girl. Standing in front of her, he put up his dukes. The spider saw him, and quickly rushed to him, with its poisonous fangs ready for his throat. However, when it jumped at him, he reflexively ducked with superhuman speed, and performed a very strong uppercut, punching the spider in its soft underbelly. The spider fell onto its back, and before it could get up, the young man brought his leg up to his shoulder, and his foot came down onto the spider's head, crushing it into pieces of hairy, green goo.

…Whew…" he said, heaving the headless body into the bushes. 'We'd better get a move on. Lots of hungry monsters will probably be there feeding on that dead spider soon…' he thought. He stood over the girl, thinking about how weak she was. It made him laugh. Just lying there, the innocence, and the vulnerability just tied together.

"Hey, what're you doing? Wake up!" he said. "You were attacked, weren't you? I _told _you it was dangerous, didn't I?"

The only response he received with the quiet breathing sounds escaping her. Feeling a strange lust, he knelt down at her side. She was still unconscious. '…Wow, what a beauty…' he thought. She was so beautiful, and vulnerable. There was something about her. He laughed. "…Looks like _I'm _the one who's all tingly inside. …Maybe I should make a move…" he said to himself, his mind being overridden by his instinctive reaction to such beauty. "Um, Hello?" he said. She still remained motionless, lying unconscious on the ground. "Wonder if she'd mind if I… 3" he said aloud. But soon, he snapped out of it.

The young man stood up. "Hey girl! Don't just lie there like a dead fish! Get up!" he shouted. Who knew what the voice would say if he did such a deed?

A quiet moan was heard escaping her lips. Then, her eyes slowly opened, and focused, as if to obey the young man's request. She stood up weakly, but when she turned around to see the young man, she quickly backed off, with a freaked out look on her face.

The young man didn't know what to say. He was quite annoyed at her reaction. "Hey! I bust my hump savin' you, and then you take one look and run off… Then you faint? You got no manners, y'know that?" he said, trying to make it sound humorous.

"A…a monster just suddenly…" she managed to say in a shaky voice.

"Yeah… There are lots of hungry wolves and bloodsucking bats around here. You're most likely attracting them. You smell pretty good, y'know."

The girl wasn't sure if she should take that as a complement or not.

After a short, awkward silence, the young man turned around. "Anyway, don't run off like that, okay? Cause if I don't do what the voice says, my head'll split open!

The girl looked puzzled. "…Huh!?" she asked. What voice could he be talking about? Perhaps he was totally nuts?

And that was exactly the reaction the young man expected. He chuckled. "Don't 'huh!?' me. Someone or something is pretty damn insistent that I protect you," he said.

The girl was deep in thought. After a short silence, she said, "…Protect me?"

"That's right. It's always, 'Go protect this person!' or 'Go to that town!" he said, looking off into the distance. "Stupid voice jumps into my head all the time. And now it's ordering me to protect you."

The girl approached his side to listen closer.

"It has been guiding me, I guess… To where, I don't know. Oh well… it's not like it matters. What's this life to anyone but myself?"

There was a short pause. "…Anyway, at least I'm never bored. Wherever it tells me to go, there are always plenty of messed up freaks to kill. I just… don't see the purpose."

"So that's why you were on the train…" she said.

"Yup!" he said with a smile. "But thanks to that voice, I'm changing from an ordinary bad boy type into a real psycho!" he paused to laugh a bit. The girl's emotion stayed the same. "What about you? Hey are you psycho, too? Do you see weird things?"

The girl's eyes opened wide. In fact, she did see some things. And hear them, too. "…Maybe…" she said, quietly.

The youth chuckled once again. "Well… you don't seem quite like me, but… whatever. We can't just chat all day. First, we gotta find a place to rest. And I'm getting hungry," he said, walking down the path slowly. "Oh, almost forgot. My name's Yuri Hyuga, okay? And what is _your _name, miss?"

"Um… I'm Alice Elliot. Please just call me Alice," she said.

"Alice, huh? Even your _name's_ cute."

Alice showed signs of discomfort in her eyes.

"Oh, all right already! I got it! I won't touch you! Sheesh!" he said, suppressing his romantic feelings. "Right! We're off!" Yuri said, walking down the path with Alice following nervously behind.

This new hero… she thought to herself. What kind of person was he? In one glance, he was rude, perverted, and a complete scoundrel. One of the people her father had told her to stay away from in her youth. But on the other hand… she found salvation within this man, and felt quite safe with him. In a way, she knew that he'd die for her. Alice smiled lightly, and stayed close to his side. Had Yuri seen that smile, he would've boasted about it proudly, until the end of his days.

The path through the tall grass soon led to a small place by the river. The river was far too cold to traverse through, but there was nothing back the way they had come from. They decided to head for Fengtian, the closest major city to them. But for now, they decided to make camp at a small area by the river, covered with a canopy of trees, and the remains of an old campfire. With the help of some flint and steel Yuri had found, he rekindled the remains of the campfire, and spread its warmth and light around them. The dancing warm light was certain out of place in the cold and dark environment, but the salvation and warmth it offered gave it a wonderful sense of security.

"So, what do you think we should do now?" Yuri asked, sitting with his arms around his knees, up against the gnarled and ugly tree.

Alice looked around. In the distance, she saw a sluice gate for the small river. "Um…Maybe if we do something with the sluice gate, we'll be able to cross the river," she said, pointing.

"Huh!?" Yuri said, looking at the sluice gates. "Ah, of course! I was thinking the same thing!"

Alice laughed on the inside. She could tell he had had no clue how to cross the river.

"Um… right. Let's have a search then!" he said.

Yuri got up, followed by Alice. They left the campfire to fend for itself while they climbed over the wet mushy hills of mud and tall grass.

An extreme feeling of discomfort came to Alice when her shoes filled with muddy water. Alice carefully picked her way around the muddy holes of glistening, icy water, while Yuri sloshed his way through them, without a second thought.

The gate was an old, wet piece of wood, with a rusty handle. It was something that one would not want to touch.

"Alright, here goes!" Yuri said, grabbing the wooden handle. He put all of his weight into his arms, and spun as hard as he could. The thing reeked with a terrible smell, and there were centipedes and other insects crawling all over it. Yuri grunted as he let go of the sluice gate handle.

"Hmm. No good. Damn thing's rotten," he said.

"There's another one over there," Alice said, pointing a decameter away.

Yuri and Alice approached, but to no avail. Three gates and all but one were rotten. And the only one still in fair shape was missing its handle. "Shit…" Yuri said.

Alice was silent for a moment. Yuri seemed lost in thought for a while. Alice wondered what he was thinking, when her mind began to wander off, back to Rouen, France, when her father had died. Roger Bacon had just emerged from the darkness yet again. Alice's heart began to pound, as she remembered. The warlock lifted his hand with a Satanic smile, and…

"Hmm. This one could work if I had a handle…" Yuri said. "I know! We can use the handles from before! The gates themselves were rotten, but the handle might work!" he said. Alice stayed put, while Yuri jogged over to an old gate, some meters away. He tried to pull the handle off of one of them. "Hah, no problem. Watch and learn, little girl," he said. He pulled as hard as he could. "Urr…" he said, grunting. The handle stuck stubbornly to the rotten gate. Finally, he let go to rest his arms.

Panting, he said, "Okay, this time I'll get it!" Once again, he tried, but failed. Alice stood in silence. "This… fucking… HANDLE!" he shouted in a sudden burst of anger. He grabbed a large branch from the ground nearby, and attacked the gate with it. Alice was startled by Yuri's sudden loss of temper, but she approached to see if she could help out. Yuri watched her walk up to it. She grabbed the branch from the ground, and used it as a lever, against the handle. With one foot upon the rotten gate, she finally popped the gate handle off, and it landed heavily on Yuri's foot.

"Ow! Damn…" Yuri said. There was a short silence. "Hah! Finally got it off!" Yuri said, back to cheerfulness. Alice laughed to herself.

The two of them headed back to the only sluice gate that worked, and put in the handle. Yuri began to turn it, and the gate opened. Soon, water from the small river began to rush through. "Hah! Good. It's a little rusty, but I ain't complaining!" he said.

Built in the early 1800s, it was a miracle that one of them still worked. It was originally used by farmers who crossed the rivers for trade. As they sloshed their way back to the campfires, Yuri glanced at the water flow with a smile. "Well, looks like it'll take a while for the water to drain. I say we take a rest for now," Yuri said.

"Right," Alice agreed.

It had been an hour before Alice drifted into a peaceful and innocent slumber. Yuri remained awake, sitting by the fire. He glanced at Alice. "She's asleep," he said to himself. "What was that all about? She's got some nerve," he said. Alice's cherubic body was getting progressively more beautiful in his eyes. She was an angel, he was sure of it. Suddenly, the feeling came back. "Yeah, to hell with it. I'm just gonna… 3" he said.

Just then, Alice muttered something. "Uh…uhh…Father…" the words crawled out of her mouth weakly.

Yuri was startled. "Oh, you're just talking in your sleep!" he said, his heart calming down. "Jeez! Don't scare me like that!" he said. "…Boy, why am I stuck protecting this damn girl?" He laid himself down and gazed up at the stars. And at that moment, he thought to himself… why am I here?

It was the voice of course. It had always been. It had governed his entire life since his parents were murdered 13 years ago. But then again, where the hell would he be alone? He'd probably be some homeless guy, starving on the streets, begging for his rice. In a way, he was a bit thankful of that voice… but who in the world did it belong to? It was this one question that drove him mad.

Alice stirred uncomfortably. Yuri forgot about his thoughts and laid his eyes on her vulnerable form. "Daddy… no." she whispered, and shuddered.

"Oh, please. Don't tell me she's dreaming about her _dad_." He said, yawning. "I'm getting sleepy myself…" he said. He laid back, and soon, he was dozing off.

He felt like he was asleep for some time…

And then, he awoke suddenly with a start. A strange feeling of vulnerability overcame his mind. Something was not right here…

The fire flared and flickered in a strange way. It was suddenly freezing cold, and a gray fog crept in from the river. It was strangely quiet. The moon had been blocked out by dark clouds, and all the bugs and wildlife of the plains had suddenly come to an eerie silence. A strange moan seemed to drift along the river, with the wind, and get louder and louder as it approached. Yuri was startled when he heard a familiar laughter dancing across the wind, at times seeming distant, at others right behind his back.

"This… this aura… it's…" he said to himself. And suddenly, the laughter was very close.

"_Heh, heh… at last we meet…"_

Yuri jolted around. Behind him, a few feet away, shaded by the darkness of the whispering trees, was a figure in a Japanese military uniform, and wearing a familiar fox mask. It was a child's mask, but it looked very ominous on the dark figure, as he stepped forward. Yuri had seen the fox mask before, but he didn't remember where. But he knew who it was. He knew because this figure had appeared in his dreams time and time again.

"F-father!? What… what are you doing here?" he asked. Yuri's father had disappeared when he was around ten years old. He had promised to come back that winter, from his mission, but never did. Nowadays, Yuri's father only existed in his dreams and his mind, as the fox-faced man. But now… the figure had jumped straight out of his thoughts, and had come to speak with him!

The fox face laughed. "I've come to visit, boy."

There was something about the fox face that struck extreme terror in Yuri. He could face up to the most demented and messed up monsters on the planet, but there was something about the man, that was beyond his appearance. Something that Yuri's soul knew of, and hated. He hated it. It struck his heart with complete horror each time he dreamt it. He knew… he was aware that he was being driven mad by this reoccurring phantom… and yet he allowed it to do so.

The fox masked man stepped even closer. "The souls of the monsters you've killed are quite lonely, you see…"

Yuri was puzzled and intimidated. "…Souls of the… monsters…!?" he asked. He imagined all the strange and disturbing creatures he'd disposed of (and they were many) all staring at him, wanting his blood. His question remained unanswered. Instead, the fox face approached Alice.

The man let out a wicked chuckle. He bent down. Yuri was surprised to see the fox face's fingers pass though her face, as if he was just an illusion. "What a lovely face…" he said. "And yet, I must show proper courtesy… it is thanks to this woman's power that I am even here."

"Her power? What?" Yuri said, not as intimidated anymore, but more confused.

"Haven't you noticed?" the fox said. Yuri could see his wily smile behind the fox mask. "This world overflows with the ghosts of the monsters you've slain. The gate of Eternal Darkness was closed until now. You see… this woman is causing it to open!"

Yuri wanted to say something, but found he couldn't. "The ghosts sealed inside the darkest depths of your heart…they call to _me, _boy! And they demand that I devour your very soul!"

Yuri's vision began to blur. It seemed as if the fox was everywhere, now. All around him, getting closer, hungry for his fear. "Stay away…" Yuri said. But the foxes continued to approach. And then, one fox came closer than all the rest and the rest seemed to vanish. A wicked laughter echoed all around, and visions of wraiths and ghosts of wicked monsters crawling out of bloody graves, and angry fiends swirled, all followed by the fox face. A sudden loud groaning sound entered his ears, and wicked laughter followed. There were eyes… bloody eyes. And gleaming teeth. And amidst the strange visions, was the worst sound of all. Alice's piercing scream. Her face shone suddenly, her eyes melting into an angry fire. The skin tore its way off of her skull, and the scream filled Yuri's ears until the pain of agony hung heavy in his head.

Suddenly, the fox face held out his hand, and he felt as if he slipped out of consciousness. Everything vanished, but the sound of the fox's hateful laughter remained with him. And suddenly, everything was black…

It was really cold, when he regained consciousness. The coldness came from all around. Yuri was quite alarmed to find that he could not breathe. He was beneath the surface of some dark body of water. The water around him seemed to pull him down even further. He couldn't see a thing around, and it didn't matter if his eyes were opened, or closed.

He struggled, releasing scores of tiny bubbles, that seemed to have much easier of a time floating upwards than he did. He wasn't in the same place as before.

And finally, he floated down to a strange and unknown place, and could suddenly breathe. Moaning sounds filled the air. A gray mist crept over the ground, soiled by the spirits of dead demons. It was a large graveyard, enclosed in a small fenced area. The fence looked as if it was made of bones, painted black. The trees that surrounded seemed to breathe, and watch, and cast shadows that resembled skeletal hands reaching out around as the ghastly wind made them shift. Beyond the fence, was an eternal plain of black emptiness, a huge dark void on all sides. It was as if he was in some dark realm, in a small floating island, littered with graves. The only light came from a ghastly blue glow the rose from the ground. Above, a cloudless black sky hung, with not a single star in it. And the real frightening thing, was that Yuri recognized this graveyard perfectly.

"…What's going on… where am I…" he said to himself. "This is just like in my dreams!" then, he suddenly remembered he was fighting the fox face. He looked around, frightened for a minute. "Huh!? Where's… Where is he!?" he said.

He surveyed the place. Dark and disquieting, the graveyard was a place that only the souls of the damned could find. Yuri knew that for sure. "Heh heh… so he didn't come with me, eh? Damn! I can't believe this. Honestly, this is a pretty lame illusion," he said, to himself. "…If this is an illusion…" He suddenly realized that he could feel and see everything clearly, which frightened him.

He entered the graveyard, and walked up to one of the tombstones. He surveyed his surroundings. "…Yup, this is it alright. The graveyard from my dreams. Aw, man, I don't want to be remembering this! Now's the part where I get lost, then wake up in a cold sweat just as a monster's about to eat me…" he said. He tried to convince himself that he wasn't afraid, though one could see it in his eyes. "No, no, NO! Nothin' but trouble ever since that freakin' voice showed up!" he said. "Maybe I've lost it completely… first dad jumps out of my nightmare, and shows up right before my eyes… and now _I'm _the one in the dream. I save that girl, and don't get so much as a _smile. _I mean, come on! Aren't they supposed to get all dewy eyed? 'Ooh, Mr. Yuri! Thank you ever so much! SMOOCH!' ain't that how it's s'posed to go?" he sighed. "Aw man, now I'm all depressed."

Yuri suddenly, felt very heavy, and took a seat on some cold stone steps beside him, thinking about all that had happened, about Alice, and about where he was now. He decided to stop talking to himself, and explore around. At the very back of the graveyard, there was a large door, with two giant trees with branches reaching out like twisted arms.

"That door…" Yuri said to himself. And as he walked up to it, suddenly, four masks appeared. The first was golden, and had the face of a bird with a crown of feathers. The second was red, and had a square face, with two small eyes and a straight mouth. The third was greenish gold, and had the face of a great lion. And the fourth was silverish blue, and had the face of a fish, with a grail on its head. They were the four masks, sword, staff, gold, and grail, in that order. Fear, envy, anger, and hate. They each appeared with a wicked, cackling laughter, and grinning faces.

Trying not to show his fear, Yuri stood up to them. "…Now I see. So it was you all along, pullin' the strings, eh?"

The sword mask spoke with a high, wicked voice. "We are pleased to see you, boy… the detestable young Harmonixer who damned us to eternal hell…"

"Heh heh… no need to thank me, but to be honest, I really haven't missed you guys at all.

The staff mask spoke with a low, whispering voice. "Ho ho ho… your pathetic bravado can't hide your fear.

Yuri became agitated. He constantly tried to convince himself that he wasn't afraid of anything. And in most cases, that was true. "Keep laughing!" he said, threateningly. "I'll slice that stupid mask in two!"

The gold mask spoke in a deep, demonic voice. "Ha ha ha! Your mind may not comprehend this place, but your heart understands it full well. Yes. This world is a reflection of your own mind's darkness. Darkness you have created yourself."

Yuri was puzzled, but remained silent.

The grail mask spoke with an evil, cackling voice. "Ho ho ho… the more of our brethren roaming about the world you strike down, the more you shall become saturated with venomous Malice, born of their bitter vengeance… and when the limit is passed…"

"What?" Yuri said, acting tough.

"SO then shall _He _be reborn into the world of the living."

"Who?" Yuri said. The masks laughed, together, and suddenly, the fox face appeared. Yuri's heart froze once again, and gooseflesh appeared all over his body. Yuri got ready to fight, but the fox just let out a laugh, along with the masks and disappeared.

"Ho ho ho… the man, the very thought of whom makes you shrink in terror…"

"Enough! Shut your stinkin' mask face! That's enough!" Yuri shouted.

The masks halted their laughter, but smiled, and watched him, as if trying to see what he thought he could do. "You think I'm scared? Don't make me laugh! I've been huntin' monsters for over ten years. I can handle one or two of you guys with the flick of my finger! You got that, you bodiless freaks?"

The sword mask spoke. "Ha ha ha… you loved your father so much that now you're wandering aimlessly in search of him."

"Stay out of this!" Yuri shouted, getting real annoyed. "Look, I'm just out for revenge for my parents. It's none of your concern!"

The staff mask spoke. "Heh… strange words for someone who still desperately wants to believe that his father is _alive_ somewhere…" it said, grinning.

"You… Now you're really starting to piss me off! Say another word and I'll smash your smirking faces in!" Yuri said, clenching his fists.

The gold mask spoke. "Ha ha ha, slow down, boy! Worry not. We have a proper opponent for you. To sweep away the accumulation of Malice, you must do battle!"

"You wanna fight?" said, smiling. "Okay. Come on! All of you against me! I dare you, motherfuckers!"

The grail mask spoke. "Heh heh heh… no, boy. You must face your own consequences…"

"Consequences?" Yuri asked.

"Defeat this opponent, and the souls of those you've slain will be at ease."

And suddenly, a strange mist rose from the graves, and swirled in front of the four masks. They soon took form, into four skulls attached to each other, wailing a loud, grieving sound.

"What the?" Yuri said.

"This is the evil from the monsters' hate, formed into a being. Only by defeating it, shall the vengeful souls of those you've slaughtered rest."

The skulls rushed into him, and bit him tight on the arm. With a disquietingly loud wail that echoed throughout the whole void of darkness, its teeth sank deep into his flesh. "Ow! Damn…" Yuri said to himself. His left arm came up and pulled the skulls off of his arm. Their teeth ran red with his blood. The skulls began to wail and struggle to get free, until Yuri smashed them against the ground furiously. A painful cracking sound came from the skulls, along with a moaning. But, the skulls held out.

Yuri aimed a hard kick, and finally broke the skulls, shattering with a screaming sound that filled the entire area. Slowly, the skulls dropped to the ground and disappeared.

"Hah! Come on, at least give me some sort of challenge! Who's next you guys?" Yuri said, laughing at how weak the thing was.

The sword mask spoke. "It was easy for you now. But the more monsters you kill, the stronger it will get."

The Grail mask spoke. "Hohoho… well done. Your victory has swept aside the vengeance of our brethren. And it appears that the reactions of that cursed talisman you hold have vanished as well…"

"My talisman?" Yuri asked. He glanced down at the small talisman. It had been a memento from his father, who carved it with his own hands.

"That talisman is a special one. It reacts to the malice of the spirits of the dead."

And just then, Yuri noticed that it _had_ turned green from blue since he'd escaped off of the train with Alice. The ghastly colour had mesmerized him for a moment, before it went dark again.

The sword mask spoke. "Heh heh heh… it's too early to get cocky, boy. This purification is only temporary."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Yuri said, now confused.

The staff mask spoke. "Ho ho ho… when you return to your world, killing or compatriots will only result in increased Malice. Then, you will come back here to lower it. No matter how many you slaughter, this hell will continue."

The gold mask spoke. "Hahaha! Then, in due time, HE will be resurrected… the man you fear more than death itself!

The grail mask spoke. "Tee hee he… do you intend to keep running forever…?"

The staff mask spoke. "Hohoho! How much easier it would be for you if you'd simply come here in death…"

"Enough!" Yuri interrupted their wicked laughter. "Shut up!" He began to turn around and walk away.

The sword mask spoke. "Hahaha… Be gone with you, boy! Return to the world of the living!"

Yuri walked away with a cold shoulder, as the four masks continued to laugh their wicked laugh behind his back before vanishing completely once again.

He walked back to the graves, and away from the strange door. And he couldn't help but notice that one of the graves was glowing with an eerie green glow. "Yeowch! Aren't these tombstone thingies freaky?" he said to himself. "It's almost like they're alive. Haha! Wouldn't it be hilarious if all the monsters I've killed started crawling out of these?" he said, though the thought was not funny to him at all. "Hmm… this one's glowing… Seal of Earth, huh?" he said, looking at the earth symbol engraved on the tombstone.

Suddenly, a low growling could be heard. It sounded like some sort of Tiger was hiding somewhere, waiting to attack. "What the…" Yuri said to himself. And suddenly, a very long, hair arm broke though from below the soil, at the foot of the tombstone. And slowly, a monster rose out of the soil. It was some sort of fearsome tiger monster. It stood on its hind legs, and had very long arms, almost like a human's, only with lots of green and brown fur.

The tiger stared at Yuri with fierce, red eyes, and Yuri found that he couldn't move. Then, without a second though, he brought forth, the soul of the dark demon within him. With a very bright light, the death emperor heeded Yuri's call.

The tiger raised its arms, and suddenly, the ground came apart around them. Large stones in the shape of sharp spikes arose, and then, they came toward him like needles. However, the death emperor used his leather-like wings to defend itself. Then, the wings spread, and Yuri sent a sort of dark mist toward the tiger. A strange evil came with this poison mist. The monster hesitated for a minute, perhaps from pain, and Yuri took this chance to attack. With his vicious claws, he sliced, and the tiger suddenly let out a roar, and fell down to the ground. Yuri looked down, as its body was reduced to its constituent atoms, in a strange blue light, until nothing was left at all.

Yuri returned to his human form in a flash of light. "Heh heh! Yeah. I knew you'd show up! But it didn't quite go as planned, eh?" Yuri said. But ironically, the smile on his face disappeared very quickly. "Huh? What the…? Suddenly I feel, awful…!!" he said, kneeling on the ground. A violent impulse welled up inside of him. He felt like the tiger was inside of him, now. As if it was ready to come out. And suddenly, he realized what had happened.

"So… I have a new spirit to fuse with, huh? Is this… my power?" he said to himself. Indeed, it was the power of the Harmonixer.

Harmonixers were granted several genetic traits from their ancestors. In general, many passed off the shape shifters as mere legend. Rather, an old story went back long ago. While the stories were so old that all records of the exact genesis of the Harmonixer line had begun, old eastern legends of malevolent, nine tailed foxes shape shifting into human beings, had stemmed from the original Harmonixer legend.

The Harmonixers genetic traits, which they inherited from their ancestors, include rapid tissue recovery, superhuman strength, red pigmentation in the iris of their eyes, and of course, the ability to shape shift. Contrary to popular belief of shape shifters, Harmonixers do not just transform into anything. They take the shape of demons, whose souls in the mental realm come in contact with their brainwaves during sleep. For a Harmonixer, it was a battle of the minds. During a transformation, it was literally allowing the monster's body to replace one's own, while fighting desperately to retain their own thoughts. This often caused severe pain in the cranium area of the brain, which eventually might weaken in age. Indeed, if one with a weak heart attempted it, their mind would lose the battle, and the demon would find its way into their body, and assume full control. In this way, some Harmonixers in legends have gone mad and terrorized village all over Europe, and parts of Asia. The results were legends of the werewolf, and other such stories.

And indeed, most Harmonixers were targeted by malicious, vengeful spirits of the dead: for they were always in contact with the supernatural dimension beyond the realms of death. Nightmares wandered into their heads in this way.

And how did a Harmonixer deal with this? Well, during the REM stage of sleep, the conscious mind of a typical Harmonixer transcended the barriers of normal human beings, and entered this new dimension. For our hero, Yuri, this existed, in the form of a graveyard. From here, it was vulnerable to malice. A strange energy that focused upon hatred. Killing things in the real world would eventually lead their negative energy to condensate into sentient beings, which attacked the person in their dreams. Being able to overcome this demon that formed gave the Harmonixer the ability to "borrow" its body, and bring it out of the realm of darkness, and into the physical world. It was a result of the sorrowful cycle of hatred, death, and malice that Harmonixers endured daily.

Yuri dragged himself to the gate where he had appeared from before. And when he began to walk out, he heard something strange. A familiar voice. "…ease! Wa… up!" it came, in pieces.

"Huh? That voice…?" he said to himself.

Then he recognized it. It was Alice. "Yuri! Please open your eyes!" came her voice. His head suddenly seared with pain, and the graveyard seemed to vanish. "Aargh… my head again!" he aid.

"Wake up! Wake up, please! Yuri…! Please open your eyes!" came Alice's voice.

Yuri suddenly woke with a start. He was relieved to find that he was back at the campsite, with Alice. "Are you alright?" she said, with a worried look on her face. "You were having a nightmare… Mumbling about masks… and "Malice," she said.

"A nightmare…?" Yuri said, mostly to himself. "…None of your business," Yuri grunted, sitting up. "My head's just really starting to hurt. That's all. Whew… how long was I out?"

"Only two or three minutes since I found you," Alice said. "But you seemed in such pain!"

"There's nothing to worry about," Yuri said. "I've always had nightmares. Ever since I was a little kid." And then, jumping to his feet, he said, "C'mon, let's go. The water should be drained a decent amount by now."

The odd couple approached the banks. Indeed the water had drained mostly. The river had not been more than 4 feet deep. It was only the temperature that kept them from crossing it. Currently, it was just above freezing. And the wind child would probably cause it to turn to ice later on.

Across the river, the field stretched on and on in a sea of tall grass, but there did happen to be a path that led to a dark forest in the distance. On the way, Yuri was lost in thought. So, it _was_ all just a dream… he had seemed to feel the pain and fear almost as if he was really there. And he remembered it full well, unlike most other dreams, where there's usually a part that's foggy and hard to remember. But he just thought, "Fuck it, there's nothing to worry about…" and continued.

They walked down the small path, in between the walls of tall grass that surrounded them. Alice was shivering against the rushing wind. It was moaning, and blowing across her face. Her discomfort was obvious.

"Here," Yuri said, unbuckling some belts, and handing over his long leather jacket.

"Oh… why thank you." Alice said, smiling. "But aren't you cold?

"It's okay…" Yuri said. "I have my own way of warming myself up."

"How?" Alice asked.

"Well… I have my ways," Yuri smiled, as he started into the skies, lost in thought. Above, Alice's naked form floated toward him, and buried his face in her bouncing bosom. Indeed a great warmth arose in his pants.

"Yuri?" Alice said, puzzled. Snapping back to reality, Yuri felt disappointed that Alice now had clothes.

"Oh… right, on we go," he said with a smile. They began their pace once again "So, pretty lady…" Yuri said. "Why is this old fart after you? Is he some perv?"

Alice's eyes seemed to be mesmerized. "I don't know why he's after me…" she said.

"Well, you knew his name!" Yuri said. "Did you meet before or something?"

Alice let out a painful breath. "I had met him once before. Only once. My father, Morris Elliot, and I were waiting for someone to arrive, on the back steps of a church in Rouen, France…We were waiting for someone, but before they could show up, that man… Roger Bacon… he appeared, out of the darkness, it seemed. He did not hesitate to deal with my father."

"Why didn't he kill you?"

"I don't know… I think he needed me for something…"

"I knew it!" Yuri said. "He's a perv!"

"No, it's not that!" Alice said, seeming a little annoyed.

"Well jeez… if he doesn't desire a beauty like you, I'd say he's gay!" Yuri chuckled.

"Stop it!" Alice snapped.

"Oh all right, sorry. …Then you still don't know why?"

"Nope," she said. "Wherever I go, he follows, bringing death to the people around me… first my father, then those soldiers on the Trans-Siberian express…"

"Don't worry. He'll never get through me!" Yuri said, cracking his knuckles. Alice smiled gently. Although she'd only known Yuri for a couple hours, she already felt safe by his side. Well, except for his overzealous attempts to pleasure himself with her. But she knew he wasn't going to go _that _far.

Another half-hour passed by. It was about 13:00, when they emerged from the sea of tall grass. The path went on, along the side of the river that they had crossed a while back. Beyond the path, there was a dark wood. It stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions.

"Do we have to walk through that?" Alice said, intimidated. If gigantic spiders wandered these plains at night, what kind of hideous creatures lived in the forest?

"Seems so…" Yuri said, with a laugh. "Alright! More monsters!"

Alice didn't seem to have the same excitement that Yuri possessed after hearing about something like that.

As they entered, Alice stuck close to Yuri. Shadows of large trees covered them up like dark veils. They had no means of light, other than the full moon that hung above them. And that periodically was obscured by clouds, leaving them in a pitch-black void.

Walking though the forest, sometimes Alice could swear she saw moving shapes in the darkness. She heard strange sounds, also. Sounds of things that were not animals. Strange sounds, in the night. In fact, one time, she heard a growling, snarling sound. It was not loud, but it sounded very near. Yuri heard it, but didn't seem to pay much attention.

The sounds of animals screeching, and crickets chirping surrounded the two wanderers. Soon, the moon came out. Though she wasn't as frightened now that she could see, she still felt uneasy.

"Yuri, do you ever get the feeling that someone or something's following us?"

"Hm? Yeah, but I'll kick his ass. It's probably just some sex pervert stalking you. As I said before, you smell pretty good, you know?" said Yuri. "Too bad, buddy! She's all mine!" he shouted, obnoxiously.

"Hmph!" Alice scoffed.

"Oh, come on, I was just kidding!" Yuri said.

They walked on, oblivious of the path, now. They had wandered off of it accidentally while the moon was covered up by clouds. It was about fifteen more minutes, when the moon was covered once again.

THUD! Alice let out a squeak from the sudden noise.

"Ow!" said Yuri, who had just bumped headfirst into a tree. "Damn clouds…" he said. Alice was relieved that it was only the sound of Yuri hitting a tree. She actually giggled silently.

Once the clouds had covered up the moon, Alice noticed another thing. All of the animals and cricket noises had stopped. A sudden groaning noise arose in the back of the forest.

"Yuri, what's…"

"Shh!" he said, listening carefully. Alice remained silent. Yuri listened for a while, then said, "Come on. Let's get out of this forest. Quick."

\

"But what was that?" Alice said.

"I have no clue, but I don't want to find out…"

As they walked on, the moon refused to shine on again. Yuri kept stumbling into trees. Soon, everything got silent again. Not even the trees' leaves rustled. Starting out at a low groan, the sound came again, growing into a louder, more intimidating growl. As it grew louder, it felt as if it had come up behind them. _Right _behind them. Alice turned around, expecting to see a hideous creature with flashing teeth and blood soaked skin, but she saw nothing.

They walked on. For the first time, Yuri showed a slight hint of discomfort. The groaning sound came again it seemed to echo all around. The moon came out again, but did not shed enough light to see anything clearly. Yuri stood there for a moment. "…Alice? Let's get the hell outta here!" he said. "I think there's something out there. Something big."

Alice, of course, was intimidated by the fact that even Yuri felt uneasy. Their walk became a fast paced power walk, as they crunched their way though the leaves and twigs, seemingly put there just to attract large creatures in the night. Yuri bumped into more trees.

They walked very uncomfortably, but soon, the end of the forest slid beneath them. It was suddenly much lighter out, and the moon shown brightly.

Yuri was panting. "Whew!"

"What was that thing?" Alice asked.

"Something big, that's for sure!" said Yuri, still catching his breath. "Perhaps it was a yeti or something… It ain't any bear, that's for sure. Well, there's no time to waste! We've gotta get to civilization…"

They walked on the path once again, and followed the river. Soon, they both saw something that comforted them.

"Hey! Look at those lights! It's a town!" Yuri said. Alice was silent. Yuri didn't know why. "Why the long face? We'll have food and a bed to rest on! Come on!" he grabbed her hand gently, and pulled her toward the village.

Alice followed willingly, but suddenly, Yuri's grip on her hand tightened to the point where her hand hurt. Yuri held his head, then let go of her hand, dropping to his knees.

"Yuri?" Alice said, worried. "Oh my god! Yuri!"

Yuri grunted. A strange voice could be heard. It was a woman's voice, and it seemed to come with the wind. They were only able to make out parts of it.

"Be caref… … … Guar..ian…Purg…tory … Man..eater… Tr.p …wait…you…"

Alice wondered what it was trying to say. She heard something about Purgatory and man eaters, but she still didn't get the entire thing.

Yuri held onto his head, panting. Soon, the pain faded, and he stood up. "It's… gone…?" he said. "Aaaargh!! Leave me alone! Damn you!! Leave me ALONE! I'm not a damn marionette, you hear me?!" he shouted, kicking a large stone into the river. "Ow…" he said, holding his foot.

"Um, Yuri? That voice…" Alice said.

"Yeah, what about it?" said Yuri with an irritated glare.

"…I heard it too…"

The irritation ceased, and was replaced with a puzzled look. "…Really?!" he asked. No one had ever heard it before. Only him. And each time it happened, it caused a great pain in his head. The kind of pain that made the rest of your limbs too weak to support you, and left you panting on the ground.

Alice nodded. "Yes. I don't think it means us any harm. I didn't sense anything evil about it. I think… it feels like it just wants to tell us something…" Alice said.

A smirk appeared on Yuri's face. "… … … …Oh yeah?" he said, holding his hand on his hip, after a short silence. Her know it all mood entertained Yuri for a short while.

"Let's head for the village," Alice said, changing the subject. She began to walk toward the gate of the small village ahead.

Yuri chuckled to himself. "That Alice… She hears the voice, but it doesn't bother her! I wonder why?" He was temporarily in his own little world, when he noticed that Alice was walking on without him. "Huh? Hey, wait up! Don't leave me here!" he shouted out to her, running.

The two of them approached the wooden gate of the village. It was closed and locked tight. "We're here! Looks like we'll be able to get food and a place to rest!"

Alice was silent for a while. She seemed to be investigating the gate. "What's up? Something wrong?" Yuri said, with a smile.

"That voice… it sounded like it was trying to warn us about danger in this village. Something waiting… to devour us… that's what it started to say, anyway. I think we should be extra careful."

Yuri chuckled, seeing her act like this. "Ha ha, how cool'n'collected you are! You talk as if it's happening to someone else!" A frightened look passed Alice face. She grasped both of her hands together in front of her face. "But not to worry. Nothing' can surprise me at this point!" Yuri said.

"Hey, look!" came a high voice suddenly. "Wh-wha?" Yuri said, startled. They turned to see two small children, one with eyes that seemed to glow yellow, like a cat's eyes, the other with blood red eyes. Perhaps 7 or 8 years old, they wore the old rags of farmers' children, with cheap wooden sandals. Their faces looked very pale and delicate. And both were twins. Yuri ran over to the gates. "D-damn brats!! Don't freak me out like that, or I'll kick your scrawny little asses!" he shouted, kicking the gate to try to intimidate them.

"I knew it!" said the red-eyed child.

"You're right! It's true!" shouted the yellow-eyed child. This angered Yuri once again. Yuri kicked the gate once again. But then, he tried to ease up, so he'd be able to get them to open it for them.

"Huh? Look, you brats live here, right? Here in town? Great, open the gate!" he said.

"Um… nobody gets in at night, so you're just gonna hafta stay out there…" the red-eyed child said, innocently.

"Yup. We can't let you in. Sorry!" said the yellow-eyed child.

Yuri sighed. "Run along and get your mommy. Tell her you've got guests!"

"We can't…" the yellow-eyed child began to say, but suddenly, they both noticed Alice standing behind him.

"Hey… that's a woman, right?!" said the red-eyed child.

"Yeah, she's TOTALLY a girl, right?! Nice and soft…" he said. He seemed to be in a state of fantasy.

Yuri was confused. 'What, are these little kids sex perverts?' he said to himself. "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" he said, slowly, but fiercely.

Alice walked up to the gate to talk to them. "I'm sorry to trouble you so late at night, but we're lost. Would you allow us to stay here for the night?" she said, acting courteous, unlike Yuri, who was kicking at the gate and cursing violently.

It seemed like the red-eyed child's mouth was watering. "Ooh, she looks so tender!"

"A nice, juicy girl!" added yellow-eyed child.

Yuri could not say the things that popped into his head aloud, for they would be very inappropriate, especially in front of little kids. Disturbing images swirled in his head. Disturbing… yet somewhat satisfying… Alice was silent for a while, too.

In a hurry, the two little boys quickly opened the gate and rushed toward Alice with affectionate eyes. Alice stepped back, wondering what their deal was.

The red-eyed child laughed. "Eh heh heh! It's okay, you can come in!"

"Tee hee hee. Yeah, you can come inside now!" the yellow-eyed child said, following his brother.

"Thank you," Alice said, bowing.

"Our house is at the very end of the square. We'll be waiting! Bye!" the red-eyed child said, with a smile.

And with that, the two children rushed off into the village. Yuri and Alice flashed glances of confusion at each other, before stepping inside to follow them.

The two didn't notice, but as they stepped inside the village, the two wooden gate doors suddenly slammed shut by themselves.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II 

Zhaoyang Village

Alice was finally glad to be rid of the uprising terror that seemed to sweep in from all corners towards her. At last, they'd found a nice place to rest. It wasn't a very large village, nor was it very scenic. It was a primitive village in the middle of the plains. Small market shops and huts made from raw materials gathered from the forest lined the sides. There was a soft dirt road that snaked its way around the small village. The village was Zhaoyang, an old village of which, very little was known. The villagers, lost in their on joyful isolation, lived quiet lives within the walls and fences around the perimeter. Alice was actually quite surprised to find many villagers out and about at this hour of night. It was as if it were daytime. People were walking about, conversing with each other, selling things at the market, and going on with their business quiet actively. The whole place was alive with activity.

Alice snuck an inconspicuous stretch and a tiny sigh, as she gathered the warmth of life that they'd been deprived of until now. It was truly a relief, she thought. She turned to Yuri. "Hm… it's great to finally be around people who don't wanna kill us…" he said, folding his hands back behind his head with a smile.

"Yeah…" Alice replied, reflecting it back in his face. The place looked very hospitable, despite being in the middle of nowhere.

"Hello there!" a came a voice quite suddenly. It was a man, who had come up to them to their right side on a bicycle. The man was a little older than both, but had a very young looking face. He carried a large bag on his back, made of the skins of some animal, perhaps cowhides.

"Greetings!" Alice replied cheerfully, bowing, as was the polite Asian custom.

"'Sup." Yuri said, rather unenthusiastically. He didn't really talk to strangers. It wasn't that he was "afraid" of strangers, like young kids were taught to fear, he just didn't care as much. People like this guy were more of a nuisance to Yuri than anything.

"I'm a peddler," he said. "And I have a pretty good selection, would you like to take a look?"

"Well, honestly, I don't really think we're in need of that many supplies," Alice said, politely. "We've been on a long journey, and we're just searching for a place to rest for tonight. I'll thank you kindly if you let us on our way."

"Are you sure?" he said. "You never know what things you might need. Your journey sounds like a long and perilous one. And…"

"Look, the lady said no, ya stubborn bastard!" Yuri shot at him, agitated. He grabbed Alice and pulled her along.

"Wait!" he said, grabbing onto Yuri's sleeve.

"Get the hell off me!" he said.

"Please!" the man pleaded, with a sorrowful countenance. Alice immediately felt sorry for him. "I'm really broke. I don't have enough to pay for food. Please, buy something!" he said.

Yuri turned around, and approached the poor man with a glare. He grabbed the peddler by the collar, and lifted him slightly. He yelped slightly, until it was choked off.

Shocked, Alice quickly came up and put her hand on his shoulder. "Yuri, stop!"

Yuri jerked his shoulder away violently. "Do you fucking understand what I said?"

The man winced

"_Do you understand me!!?_" he said, louder, shaking him around painfully.

"…Yes…" he said.

"Good. Now stop bothering us, or I'll kick your ass. Got it?"

End of discussion.

"Good," Yuri replied with a sarcastic smile, and threw him onto the ground. Struggling to get to his feet, the peddler held onto his stretched out collar, with his head down.

_Cough… cough…ugh. _

There was a silence, as Yuri stood above the poor man, with Alice close behind. The peddler panted, with his head low to the ground, when suddenly something fell at Yuri's feet.

The man turned his head to see that they were coins. And quite a number of them, too. Grasping his neck, the man glanced up at Yuri.

"There. Take it, okay?" Yuri said with a stone cold face. There was a silence. A smile appeared on the man's face, and he grabbed the coins with a new vigor that suddenly arose in him.

"Now piss off." Yuri said, turning around and walking away.

Getting to his feet, the man with his renewed energy, smiled, with a look of pure admiration. "Thank you kind sir!" the peddler called after him, bowing, as Yuri walked away. His appreciation was never returned. Alice followed, and smiled, as she looked at him. She knew he had a heart. He just had a different way of showing it. Perhaps she could eventually pry her way into the big heart inside him, and change him into a great person someday.

"That was very kind of you, you know," Alice said, after a quiet moment.

"Oh shut up," Yuri said. "He was annoying me. I had to get him off our backs somehow."

Alice giggled.

Both in the strange pair of travelers were quite famished at this moment. They didn't eat the giant spiders out on the plains because they were highly poisonous. If eaten, the unfortunate victim would fall prey to fits of vomiting blood, until eventually they keeled over. In this way, one dead spider fed a whole bunch more.

And speaking of wild animals that wandered the dark plains at night, no one knew what kind of diseases the mad wolves and bats out there had. At least half were bound to have rabies. Many disappearances here had been attributed to the attacks of rabid animals wandering like drunken zombies into campsites, with their wide eyes running, and mouth covered with a thick blanket of white foam, before devouring any person they could find.

Yuri's stomach growled like a lion. And he was surprised when Alice's growled even louder, which provided a small amount of comic relief for them for a while. Eventually, they sat down at a small restaurant. It wasn't very big, it was just a few seats behind a bar table, with one elderly man cooking up some food, which was almost exclusively meat. But he didn't have many customers, especially in the middle of the night, so he was sitting in the back room, away from the counter.

Yuri rang the bell on the counter to summon him. "Finally good to get some real food in our stomachs, eh?" he said, smiling to Alice. She nodded compassionately. Her smile seemed to brighten the day now that Yuri had pried it out.

They waited for a few seconds. Nothing happened. "Ding! Ding!" went the bell once again. They waited for a few more seconds. Still, no one arrived. "Oh come on, Goddammit…" Yuri said. "DING! DING! DING! DING!" went the bell as Yuri aggressively hammered it, until he lost his temper, and picked up the bell and began to pound it on the desk. "Come on!!!" he shouted.

An elderly man appeared, from behind a curtain. "What… what the… Hell do you want!??" said the old man, in his old gruff voice.

"What the hell's it look like we want, you mean old bastard, we want some food!" Yuri said, angrily.

"So, what'll it be?" said the man. He was a fat man with grayish brown hair. He kneeled over the counter and looked Yuri in the eye with a stressed out looking face. But once he saw Alice, he just began to stare.

"Whoa… a woman…" he said. He gulped down some saliva. Perhaps it was because of nervousness?

Alice tried her best to avoid the man's eyes. But the man continued to stare. "Ahem…" Alice cleared her throat. The man smiled, and continued his stare. "May I help you?" Alice said, slightly annoyed. _I have enough perverts to worry about…_ she thought to herself, glancing at Yuri, sitting next to her.

"Oh, no, I'll help myself…" he said. "Oh, I mean… uh… here!" he said. He passed a metal bowl with a red meat inside, and a pair of chopsticks. Alice couldn't help but wrinkle her nose as she tasted it, for it tasted terrible. She'd never tasted anything like this type of meat before…

The man continued to stare at Alice, hungrily beholding her beauty. He smiled, and seemed in a daze.

"Yo! A little service!" Yuri said, banging the bell on the desk rudely once again. "Gimme something hard!"

The man flashed him an unpleasant look, and disappeared behind a curtain with another glance at the young, Cherubic maiden beside him.

"…Wow, Alice… you sure are popular here! 3" Yuri said.

Alice bit down onto something hard in the nasty meat, sending a painful wave through her jaw. She pulled a bone out of her mouth. "…They didn't even take the bones out…" Alice said, with a disgusted face. She noticed that there were bones all over inside the meat. "…I'm full," she said, pushing the bowl forward, and wrinkling her nose. "…That's just bloody disgusting," Alice said. She had no intention to create a pun out of that.

The man came back with a cup, and slid it to Yuri. Yuri looked into it. It was a red liquid. "Never saw this kind of beverage…" Yuri said. He took a drink of it, and suddenly found himself spitting it out reflexively. "Hey, what is this shit, man?" Yuri asked. "Tastes like freakin' metal or something!"

"I find it quite tasty…" said the man with an annoyed face, with his hands on his hips.

"I thank you for your service, but we must…" Alice began.

"This place sucks! We're outta here!" Yuri interrupted, throwing the mug down to the ground, and dragging an obsessively apologetic Alice with him.

"Jeez, after a whole night of walking, I'd expect to have some nice liquor. But what do I get? CRAP! That's what!" Yuri complained. "Tasted like freaking blood."

"Well, perhaps we can get a meal at those kids' house…" Alice said, quietly. Yuri spit a wad onto the ground and said nothing more.

The streets were filled with the scent of the metal that Yuri had just tasted, and it brought with it a sense of unease for both of them. Near the edge of the tiny village, a large, old shack sat. It was quite bigger than all the other ones. Standing in the shadows of two gigantic silhouetted conifers, it stood alone, lit by one single candle, hanging on the porch. Alice spotted two figures in the bushes behind the house. Two pairs of eyes, one yellow, one red, peeked up at her. As she stared back with curiosity, the things jumped out of the bush together. They were two black cats, and young ones at that.

Suddenly, everything was gone. All was dark, and dead… Alice could hear a strange voice that came with the wind, calling her name. The feeling… it made her skin crawl… it felt as she was alone, here. The house in front of her had become a mass of moving bones… the windows had been carefully carved out and watched her like dark eye sockets. The wind, cold as ice, blew up against her face, and the trees surrounding her waved in their dark silhouettes, conversing silently with one another…

"Hey, Alice!!!" Yuri shouted. Alice jumped with fright… The village had returned. All that was gone. She looked around at the enigmatically changing scenery, until she became aware it was her own consciousness that had taken shape before her very eyes. "Yo, are you zoning out there, kiddo?" he asked her.

"…I just…" Alice hesitated. "Never mind… let us continue…"

Around the back of the house, a large fence wound around, and behind it was a large, dark, living forest. As the couple walked their way, alone, past the house, they noticed a strange path that ran its way shyly past the cemetery, where cheaply made crosses and dead logs, marked the graves of long deceased villagers. In the far end of the path, there were bare hides hanging from a wooded gate structure. There wasn't a single hair on any of them.

Alice began to sweat uncontrollably, and a look of discomfort came to her face. She began to look around herself as if she expected someone to knife her in the back anytime soon. "Yo, what's up, Alice?" Yuri said, seeing the worried look on her face.

"I feel an evil presence. It's just like I felt before Roger Bacon boarded the train…"

"Whoa, you're a psychic, dude!" Yuri said, with an unusually cheerful expression. Alice's face remained unchanged, however.

"It's evil… and the voice mentioned it, too…" she continued. And with another distrustful look around her, she just began to walk off toward the hairless hides hanging from the gate.

"Huh? Hey! Where the hell are you going? Shouldn't we hole up for the night?" Yuri said, watching her continue off. "Oh, what the hell… damn broad…" he said to himself, before following.

Alice pushed aside the hides, and was greeted with a very unpleasant smell, that filled her nostrils like a thick miasma of dead carrion that made her seem dizzy. It was a cave, of some sort. And the next thing she noticed, were two small lights, most likely candles, by a shrine, some fifteen meters away. As she walked, her foot caught on something, and she landed on the ground, with a painful "crunch!" sound.

Yuri entered, and saw Alice on the ground, painfully holding a bleeding cut. Pitiful whimpering groans came from the wounded Angel. "Alice, you okay?" he said, heading over to help her up. Alice felt around herself in the darkness. The ground was covered with materials of all different shapes. Some were round, but most were thin and cylindrical. They were all hard, and some had holes inside. She picked one up, and held it to her face. In the dim light of the two candles, Alice saw what it was, and suddenly dropped it with a startled yelp.

_It was a skull. _

"What now?" Yuri said, looking for the thing she dropped. Alice stepped closer to the two dim candles. She discovered that the candles were actually farther away than she had at first perceived. And before them, there was a wall. It was a wall made of bones. Skulls stuck to each other stared at her with their empty sockets, maliciously. It was as if Alice was disturbing them with her presence. Though they did not move, Alice could feel their hate and blood lust.

The smell was now getting overwhelmingly dreadful. Alice covered her nose and stepped backward, into Yuri's arms. "Whoa…" Yuri said with amazement.

"Th-these are all… bones… _Human_ bones!!" she said, stuttering as she spoke as the fear and disgust welled up inside her. The bones of people… killed here!"

"Whoa…" Yuri repeated, seemingly interested. "Awesome…"

As the pair's eyes adjusted to the dim light of the cursed candles, Alice saw that the ground was painted with blood. The soft dirt all around sloped inwards, to a deep depression, where the bodies of various, unclothed humans lay. The eyes laid wide open, and their mouths hung down in a pitiful fashion. Several had holes in their bodies, viciously ripped by the teeth of some rabid beast. The hole they sat in was perhaps fifteen feet in diameter, and maybe ten feet deep.

Alice glanced at the haunting light that shone from the two candles at the back of the cave.

"What's happening in this village…?" Alice said with paranoid eyes.

Yuri stepped over to the pile of bones and inspected it. The skulls were tightly packed together, and wouldn't budge. "Hmm…" Yuri said. "Looks like the voice was right. I think these people're cannibals."

Alice inspected the two candles from behind the wall of skulls. "That shrine there… it's as if it holds all the anger of people that died here." With this, Alice glanced back down to the pile of meat that lay in the depression some 15 feet away.

They were silent for a moment.

"Heh heh heh…" came a voice from behind them quite unexpectedly. They both turned around quickly to see. At first, it seemed as if the person's head was floating in thin air. His body seemed to blend with the darkness of the area so well. He was an old man, with a shrunken face and a smile creepier than Bacon's. He was the boniest man you'd ever seen, and his bald head was covered with a few gray hairs that grew out, and hung down like a dead willow.

"Looking for the Black Tortoise god that was enshrined here, are you? Well, he's been gone for six months!"

"The Black Tortoise God?" Alice asked, backing up near Yuri. She hadn't been searching for a god or anything. She had just sensed an incredible evil here. Something that was taboo in the human world. The two of them had come here only in search of a bed and some food.

"Yes. To pacify the Earth Spirits, humans defied him, and built this shrine. It's all such nonsense! But now, with the troublesome Black Tortoise God gone, we're free to do as we please!" the man's chuckle seemed to echo in the darkness. "We can even take the form of humans. We couldn't ask for more! The only problem is, now we get hungry… it's all thanks to the new Protector of our town, Yamaraja!"

Suddenly, Yuri laughed. "Yamaraja! What kind of a name for a demon is _that!?_" he turned to the shrine with the two candles. "I suppose I'd find him in that shrine there?" he asked, defiantly.

The smile had disappeared from the grinning old man's face. "How… how insolent!" he said. "But no matter… you won't last long… Tonight there'll be a special feast, for our rare guests. Now, you just run along and say hello to the Granny Mayor, hee hee…" As Yuri turned around, he could've sworn he saw the faint form of a silhouetted beast take off out of the small cave, and into the forest beyond. "Hm… it seems they aren't just cannibals… they're demons, too…" Yuri said.

"Don't tell me we're gonna be eaten…?"

Yuri smiled. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not too fond of the idea!" he said, sarcastically. With this, he smile, and cracked his knuckles.

Alice stamped her foot, crunching into the bones that covered the soft dirt ground below her. "I'm not happy about it either, I can tell you!" she said, all panicky. "What are we gonna do, Yuri? We can't stay here! What if…"

"Oh, lighten up! It's all right, I'll protect you," Yuri said, cheerfully. Alice fell silent for a while, but she felt safe with Yuri by her side.

The two headed over to see if they could get out, but soon the two kids from before came running up to them. "Ooh, it's the girl from before! Thank goodness!" the Red eyed child said, as if he were desperate to see Alice. Her stomach lurched uncomfortably. She imagined inside the house was a bunch of devil worshipping people, each with knives, or axes, to carve up their meat. Bodies of naked humans hung headless from the ceiling, twisting this way and that on the ropes…

"You really came!! We're so glad!! C'mon, c'mon, come inside!" The yellow eyed child begged. Then they both went inside with lots of energy.

"They're cute, but they're probably demons, too, y'know," Yuri whispered to Alice. "I say we kick their asses!"

Alice sighed. Why did Yuri's attitude towards everything always seem to be just brute force? Reluctantly, she followed Yuri inside.

The door creaked open, and the two entered. The two boys stared up at them with innocent eyes as they walked across the floor. There was only one room in the entire house. There were two beds on either side, And in the far end of the room, an old lady sat on her knees by a warm, glowing fire that was blazing in a small pit. A strange looking meat was roasting on top of the fire.

"So, you're the mayor's wife?" Yuri said. "Great! As you can see, I have a lady with me. We sure could use a bed for the night."

The old crone looked up at them with kind eyes. Kind, _red _eyes." Yes, yes, I heard all about you from the children. You just make yourselves at home. We rarely get visitors here. We don't have much for you, but please rest your weary bones!"

"Hey, thanks, ma'am! Well be outta your way by early morning."

The old woman chuckled in the same strange way that the old man had before. "Now, now, no need to rush. You just stay as long as you need to!"

Alice bowed politely. "Thanks, ma'am. It's kind of you to let us stay, having just shown up in the middle of the night like this."

The lady looked into Alice's eyes, and Alice looked away, her heart pounding. Lifting herself off of the soft cushion she sat upon, the old woman walked over and surveyed Alice's physique.

"What a nice-mannered young lady. But you don't have to worry about manners here," she said. There was a short silence. Her smile got wider. "…For it won't change the taste of their meat."

Alice remained silent. Yuri stepped forth. "Kind woman! You all talk as if you're going to have us for supper!" he said, in a sarcastic voice.

"Hee hee hee… Well at least one of you has brains! Eat you both we will!" the old lady said, chuckling. Alice looked at Yuri with frightened eyes, but Yuri just laughed along with her, and soon the kiddies chimed in, too. Alice felt like the only sane one in the room.

The old lady cleared her throat. "I've got to go tell Yamaraja we have an offering for him. Hmph, let me get through here… okay, okay…" she said, grabbing a cane. She made her way out of the house. Yuri and Alice peeked out the window, and saw her heading off towards the shrine beyond the hides.

"C'mon, you two! Here, take a load off!" said the Yellow eyed child, innocently.

"Don't worry, we'll be right outside, so you can't get away!" the other said, with a childish smile. Yuri stared deeply into the child's eyes, and a hint of fear arose in them. A strange aura hung around Yuri, and all but Alice could feel it. The children nervously exited the house.

Alice and Yuri were now alone in the room. A suspenseful pause followed.

"Oh my God!" Alice said.

"I know!" Yuri said, now cheerfully. "I haven't ever been told I have brains!"

Alice ignored his smart comment. "We're in trouble now. Looks like they've got us trapped," she said, uneasily.

"…It appears so…" Yuri said, casually.

Alice stamped her foot once again. "How can you be so calm at a time like this!?"

"Aw come on!" Yuri said, smiling again. The smile seemed immune to the dreadful situation that surrounded them. "If you get too anxious, It'll just make you hungry. Let's take a rest and see what their next move is." And with that, he headed for the bed in the corner. Alice was quite surprised at his easy going and optimistic attitude. But she went to the other small bed without arguing.

Alice couldn't sleep. She knew that within a few hours, each person in town would reveal their true selves, and barbarously fight over who got the most of her meat. A whole village of Satanic beasts hungry for human flesh waited outside. By the dim flicker of candle light, she held onto her cross, and gently prayed to God. "Lord, please bless us, and aid us within this darkest hour. Amen." She whispered to herself.

About an hour later, Alice was just starting to doze off. She had tried to fight it, for fear that she would never wake up again. She thought about Yuri, who slept quite soundly on the other side of the room, and what his plans were. She was very lost in thought, for most of the night, until her stresses gave way to the gentle lull of sleep.

After a while, the wooden door crept open, and allowed a little light to flood into the candle lit room. She rested her head quickly on the pillow, and did her best to pretend to be asleep.

The two children had entered the room. She could tell by their tiny, light footsteps. The red eyed kid looked to see if the old lady was coming back.

"Hey, let's take a bite!" said yellow eyes.

"Well… she's not anywhere in sight… I guess we could!" the red eyed child said, happily. The red eyed kid stepped on an old floorboard, making a loud, creaking noise.

"Shh!" said yellow eyes.

"They asleep?" asked the other one.

"Looks like it!" he said. They both approached Alice's bed as quietly as they could. Tiny fangs began to poke out of their mouths, as they crept up on their prey. "Hooray! Let's have a little taste!"

"Quietly now, or Granny Mayor will kill us!"

Shadows of tiny boys covered Alice. The yellow eyed boy crept forward, while the red eyed one kept flashing glances back at the door anxiously. The tiny fangs got longer and sharper, and they were just near Alice's neck.

But suddenly, a gloved hand came out of a blanket that was on the side of the bed, and grasped tightly around the little boy's neck. A lump rose from the blanket, and soon, it slid off. It was Yuri. Alice stirred awake.

The little boy choked and whimpered as Yuri held him by the throat.

"They're not asleep!" the red eyed boy said, backing off. "You tricked us!"

Yuri threw the little yellow eyed twerp to the ground fiercely. "Well then, don't sneak up on us! And if you do, at least do a good job!" Yuri said, chuckling. "So… you're ready to show yourselves for who you really are?" Yuri's smile turned into a fierce, intimidating face. "YOU LITTLE GOBLIN BRATS!!"

The yellow eyed child was holding his neck, where Yuri had held a grip tight. "Darn! If we let you get away, everyone'll get mad, and then they'll eat us up! And if we _don't_ let you get away, they'll know we tried to sneak a taste, and they'll eat us anyway!" he cried.

"If we're gonna get eaten no matter what, I at least wanna taste the girl!" the red eyed boy said, fiercely. His eyes were no longer innocent, but full of greed and hunger.

Yuri put on another optimistic smile. "Hah! Tough luck, kids! If anyone's going to eat her, it's me!" he declared.

_There was a short silence. _

Alice stared at him for a moment, confused. So did the two boys. She knew he was just being sarcastic, as usual. He was a weird one, all right.

"Ooh, you're so bad! We'll kill you!" they said.

Yuri put up his dukes with Alice behind him. Alice watched in horror, as the two cute little boys began to shed their human skin. They tore out of it, as if they were demons waiting to hatch from within a glistening red chrysalis. A long sheet of bloody membrane covered their inner bodies, and then slid off, with an audible stretching sound that made your stomach lurch. A foul stench filled the air. And soon, their human skin was flat on the floor, spread out like a bloody sheet, covered with wiggling maggots. Two cat-like demons stood on their bony, hind legs where the cute little boys had just been, drenched in blood. The demons were utterly skinny; their rib bones stuck out at an uncomfortable rate. Their paws were not paws at all, but twisted bony hands. With fierce growls, the two of them stared at their prey hungrily.

"Hm… I guess I have no choice…" Yuri said, recognizing the strength of these demons. Alice's line of view was suddenly flooded with a bright light. She thought she could hear Yuri screaming, as if in pain, but the screaming faded away.

"Yuri!" Alice shouted in concern.

And when the light vanished, Yuri was no longer there! Instead, a greenish tiger-like creature that stood on its hind legs, its meter-long arms hanging nearly to ground, had appeared. But where had Yuri gone?

Both cat demons launched forward toward the tiger. But in a quick movement, the tiger jumped into the air and dodged both attacks simultaneously. From the corner of the hut, the raging tiger roared loudly. The two demons tried another attack, but the tiger stamped its foot. Alice watched, and could not decide whether to be horrified or baffled. As its foot hit, the wooded floor broke and a flat stone shaped like a shield rose. The two demons were taken by surprise, and ran headfirst into the stone, shedding blood. The tiger used a strange kinetic force to push the shield and the demons away. Then, the shield split in two and the tiger flung them at the hellcats, like shuriken blades. Dazed from the hits, the demon cats were left vulnerable, as the tiger once again used its kinetic manipulation to bring more rocks out of the ground. This time, they were shaped like spears. The tiger put its paw forward, and before the two demon cats were aware, two large shafts of stone had pierced their hearts. With painful screeches the two struggled, before two more stones, roughly the shape of a round ball, flew at several miles per hour, towards their heads, crushing their skulls, and violently splattering brain matter amongst the wooden wall. A dark, spider-like stain now hung behind their heads, and oozed down towards the floor.

By now, both demons had been pinned in a bloody mass against the wall, with their dead eyes staring at everything and seeing nothing. The skin seemed to fall off around the wound, spilling hundreds of white, wormy maggots on the floor.

Alice covered her mouth at the sight of such violence… The monster was left standing there, until quite suddenly, it turned and approached Alice. She flinched, holding her book out in front of her. But the bright light appeared again, she watched as the flesh of the tiger demon shifted into that of Yuri, stumbling out in front of her, landing on his knees, and breathing hard. His eyes were bloodshot, and his veins popped out in an unhealthy way.

"Yuri?" Alice said, looking around for the tiger. "Are you okay?"

Once Yuri regained his breath, he stood up. "Hah! You'd just get the runs if you ate us anyway! Got it, fools?"

He stretched out his arms and turned to Alice, who had a look of pure horror and amazement covering her face. "What's the matter, Alice?" he said.

"A-a green tiger demon just appeared out of nowhere! I thought it had swallowed you up, but I'm glad to see that you're safe!"

Yuri chuckled slightly. "I… I originally had no intention… to show you that…" Yuri said, panting between breaths.

Alice was confused for a minute, until she realized. "W-was that… _you!?_" she said.

"Yeah, it was."

"But… how… how did…" Alice's eyes were of pure shock. She backed away a few steps.

"It's my ability, okay? For some strange reason, I was born with the power… to borrow strength from demon souls that are sealed within me…"

"Does that make you a demon?" Alice asked.

"No, I don't think so…" Yuri said. "Look, I'm still the same me, okay?" Alice was silent. "I had no intention to show it to you, but it was an emergency. You know, I did the same thing when I saved you from Roger Bacon."

Alice was still in shock over Yuri's strange power. But the thing that took her mind off of this was a sudden rotten smell. It was the smell of carrion, and it had come without warning, unseen, a deadly miasma streaming into her nostrils. She felt like she was drowning in evil and death. And a strange sound accompanied it. It was a sound of slipping. As if slimy pieces of meat were moving up and down the street.

"Yuri, it sounds like something's happening outside!" she said, cupping her hands near her face. It was a habit she did when she was frightened. It came from praying to the Lord in times of crisis.

But as usual, Yuri just laughed. "So, the whole town's decided to show their true selves, have they?" Yuri said. This statement contributed to a rise of fearful emotions within Alice.

The two exited the small hut, and found themselves in the same village. However, there was one large thing that had changed. The ground was covered with a red, sticky substance. Piles of naked human corpses lay here and there. _Piles to be eaten…_Alice thought to herself. A look of uncontrollable horror was written on each of the anguished faces, as if trying to tell them how they had been slaughtered and harvested for their meat. Most were female, and they came in all shapes and sizes. One even had a swelled up, but empty uterus. She was obviously pregnant, but they'd cut out and eaten the fetus before birth.

Scraps of bone and flesh littered the red ground until you could hardly see the dirt road beneath. A large reddish fog had suddenly blown in, and evil seemed to swirl above them, as if to keep them there until they rotted along with the rest. Alice couldn't help but picture herself, stuck on top of one of the naked heaps, her head completely shaven, and her face, having the same horrified expression of a helpless and trapped animal, prey to these evil demons and their malicious bloodlust.

It seemed like a horrible nightmare to Alice. It suddenly felt like all of the past six months had been a nightmare. Her father dying, the train incident, and this cannibalistic horror were all nightmares that she could never awake from. She felt her soul, in the dark void, futilely crying for help. The cries echoed through the darkness and her heart gave in. But suddenly, she snapped out of it, and became aware of the reality of this nightmare.

"…It's like a sea of blood!" Alice said, her heart thumping furiously inside her chest. "This must be what the village really looks like…"

She expected sarcasm from Yuri, who seemed to stand up to all types of fear as if they were jokes. However, she was surprised, and quite alarmed to find that he had a very serious and concerned expression. "This is what was left after the demons devoured the humans. Be careful. I think they mean business this time," he said. There wasn't a single ounce of rebellious energy left in his voice, and the ghastly aura that seemed to come from him on the train returned. It wasn't evil, but a feeling of protection from the darkness.

He turned to the bare skin hides (Alice now knew for sure that it was human skin) and peered behind them. "Why don't we see what's happening back there?" Yuri asked. Alice didn't really want to, but she had no choice but to follow. Together, they squished their way through the bloody masses below their feet, and into the small shrine ahead.

The Mayor Lady, still in her human form, was sitting by the two dimly lit candles. Alice took a glimpse of an object she held in her hand. She held the head of a young Chinese girl, perhaps 20 years old, by the hair. As Alice watched, a disturbing event unfolded. The old lady proceeded to strip the head of its skin using several peeling tools. She… tore it off of the skull, like skin on a fruit… it was awful. Twisting a winding metal needle into the eyeball, she jerked fiercely on it, making a crunching sound from the snapping nerves that detached.

Alice shook her head and cried silently for her to stop, when she took the same winding needle, and twisted it into the cerebrum, and pulled it out of the nose hole of the skull. Now rid of all the skin, muscle, cartilage, and fat, she polished the skull with a soft cloth, and placed it up onto the alter.

The candles seemed to glow brighter and redder in the darkness, now that the village had turned into a crimson sea. They were like two eyes that stared at the two intruders as they approached. The demon… Yamaraja, was watching.

The old lady suddenly turned around reflexively. She had heard their quiet footsteps, almost as if she had the hearing ability of a cat. Indeed, her face sort of resembled one in the dim light of the two candles. "Eh? How did you get here?!" she said, with annoyance. "The children were supposed to have been guarding the entrance. What have you done to them?"

With this, Yuri's cocky sarcasm returned quite as suddenly as it had vanished. He laughed. "Hey, lady. I put the kiddies to sleep. _Permanently_." He stepped daringly forward, cracking his knuckles. "Why don't _you_ show us your true form, too? We're tired of this endless cannibalistic bullshit. We figured that if we came here, and took care of you… Well, you know how it always works!" With the final sentence, he shrugged and a grin had appeared across his face.

The old lady walked forward, towards them. "Ha! Fools!" she said, cackling like a witch. "Even if I die, the monsters will remain, and you'll still be imprisoned in this town. Because all of this is the will of the great Protector, Yamaraja!"

Yuri couldn't suppress his laugh. Alice didn't know why Yuri found it strangely funny that the name of some demon god of Purgatory was called Yamaraja. The name just reeked evil. "Yamaraja? C'mon, I could take care of him just by destroying the shrine back there!"

"Take a good look!" the old lady said, with a wicked grin. "These are the bones of all those I've sacrificed to Him! I used the townspeople's malice to create this fence to keep one and all away from Him. As long as I'm alive, this fence will protect Yamaraja. Because without killing me, you can't get near the shrine!"

"So… I was right after all! You _are_ the one to get!" Yuri said.

The old lady cackled once again. "First you'll have to catch me! Poof and I'm gone!" she said. There was a bright flash of light, and her body faded away from sight. Both were dumbfounded.

"Dammit!" Yuri cursed. "Where'd the demon-cat go?"

And suddenly, the two of them heard an echoing voice coming seemingly along with the red fog that blanketed the village. Only the voice was not the voice of a timid old lady anymore, but a deep, demonic voice that came from all sides. It was as if it was the voice of the entire village. The voice of hell… But it was just the old lady's new voice, coming back to them.

"Hyah hyah hyah! You're going to wander aimlessly through this village forever! Wither and die in this village, where morning never comes!" with this, a strange howling sound came in from all sides, and a high screech entered their ears, along with the crone's wretched, echoing laughter.

Alice was intimidated by how her voice had changed. But Yuri just showed anger. "Damn it!! Show yourself, bitch! Come on, come out and fight! I'll _kill_ you, you motherfucker!" Yuri said, fiercely, looking around.

"Where did she run away to?" Alice asked. "…I have a feeling that she can't escape this place any more than we can."

"Yeah. She must be somewhere in the village. Let's find her. Then we can get the hell outta here," Yuri said. Alice felt uncomfortable, rushing so quickly into the fight, but she followed him. The two crunched their way through the tiny cave, and back down the path past the human skins.

As they continued down the bloody street, they passed the small restaurant that they'd eaten at before. As they strode down through the village, Yuri had a suspicious look in his eyes. He sensed something… Suddenly, he paused, and put his arm out in front of Alice. She stopped before she could bump into him, and looked around. "…Yuri, what is…"

"Shh!" he said. A silence followed. "Get back!" he shouted.

Alice felt herself being shoved down into the putrid, slimy ground. And then she saw an amazing sight. Cannibalistic animal demons had suddenly emerged from the houses, like zombies. They were going for an ambush, but Yuri had sensed it beforehand. All of the townsfolk had appeared, showing their true faces, all twisted pointed noses, sharp claws, long fangs, and severely disfigured faces. Demonic laughter filled the area surrounding them.

The old man they'd seen before stepped forth, with a wicked grin on his face. "Heh heh heh… tear them apart!!!." He yelled, his face changing shape, and discarding his human visage. As if to obey the man's command, the entire village, now freshly shed of their disguised skin, began to close in, hungrily on the pair.

"Aww, shit!" Yuri exclaimed. With lightning reflexes, Yuri dodged two attacks from both sides at once. With a sweeping kick, he brought one demon down to the ground while he whacked the head off of another with his foot. He picked up the one he'd swept, and threw him with great strength to a group that was approaching him from the front, and then quickly plunged his fist through another like a wooden board. He pulled his fist back, and pushed the demon down with his foot.

Yuri now jumped backwards and put up his dukes. A group of about ten more demons lay ahead of him. Yuri tightened his fists, and suddenly, to Alice's surprise, three long blades jutted out of his white leather gloves, with an audible "shing!"

And Yuri suddenly went into a fighting frenzy, taking down multiple targets all the time with superhuman speed. It was actually tough for Alice to see him at some moments.

But what was known was that several began to fall at a time, until all of the demons that had emerged were shoved down to the ground to join the human corpses.

The steel blades retracted very quickly, back into his white leather gloves, and Yuri looked up to the sky with wide eyes, holding up his hands. "Raaaaaaahr! I AM YURI! DESTROYER OF _EVIL!!!" _he shouted. Alice didn't know what to say. But it was actually kind of humorous to her, the way he exaggerated like that.

It was then, that they both noticed that the old lady was standing among the fallen corpses of demons, with a wicked smile. "Wow, you're a tough cookie!" the old lady said. "It's a wonder you didn't get eaten by my underlings yet! Poof!" and before Yuri could throw a punch, she had disappeared once again, in another flash of light.

"Argh! She's gone again," Yuri said, with frustration. Alice was silent.

The two continued their walk, investigating random places without the slightest hint of where the cat lady would be. But the next time they found her, it was quite sudden, and both were startled.

"Don't you think it'd be easier to just give up and let us eat you?" came the deep, demonic voice. It was to their right, in a nearby shop. The old lady stood there, grinning, with crimson red eyes, behind the counter. But the tinge of red that reflected in her eyes wasn't like Yuri's reddish eyes. It was more like they were soulless glass eyes and had been painted red by all the bloodshed that they'd witnessed within this village.

"Dammit! I'll get you this time!" Yuri said, grabbing a nearby butcher knife. "I WILL CUT YOU!"

"Poof!" the demonic voice said simply, and the old lady faded just quick enough for the butcher knife to hit nothing but air, until it dug its way into the wooden wall in the back of the building, and vibrated back and forth.

"…God, motherfuckin' dammit!" Yuri shouted, kicking the stand, and causing a bunch of human chunks to fall out of several baskets, as well as a pain in his foot. "Ow…" he took a breath, and turned to Alice. "Well babe, it looks like it'll be the same thing over and over at this rate. We're not getting anywhere."

Alice cupped her hands near her face once again, as she imagined never emerging from his horrible place. The place had gotten quiet suddenly, since Yuri had taken care of all the villagers. They were in this for good. That was for sure. Alice only wished she knew what to do. Pretty soon, many more demons would come crawling out of the old forest, the swampy marshlands, and that cemetery near the animal hides, to feed on the prey the disguised villagers had brought in for them. It was only a matter of time. This was the calm before the storm. Alice suddenly felt quite alone, with only Yuri by her side.

"Come on…" Yuri said, urging Alice to follow him again. "We'll find something out!" he said, with a smile. In the remarkable task it was to inspire faith and hope in Alice at a time like this, it seemed that Yuri was one in a million, who could triumph. Alice looked into his eyes and caught the smile like a disease.

"There's the gate," Yuri assured her. "Perhaps we can find something there."


End file.
